Barely Breathing
by SwiftDemise
Summary: Sequel to HOLDING ON TO YOU. Angelus and Darla are out of the picture for good but Buffy and Spike have both gone missing. The Scoobies are trying to find Buffy to bring her home before her enemies get to her but will she even be the same person?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Joss is lord and master of all things BtVS and AtS, I merely worship the ground that he walks upon. **

**BARELY BREATHING**

**_Chapter One_**

You never realize how much you are going to miss something until it is gone.

Right now she missed the sun.

She also missed 70-degree weather, flip-flops, the beach, heck she even missed Cordelia. Sure they talked about what a terrible town Sunnydale was but she couldn't help but miss it anyways.

Here it didn't get much higher than thirty something degrees and when it rained it poured.

Hence she was dreading the short trek from her dorm to her first class of the day at Wutherton Academy. It was called 'Watcher School' by most and 'Hogwarts' by Xander.

Just two months ago she had traded in her tank tops and shorts for a big yellow rain coat and a spankin' new umbrella. To make matters worse the Academy was located somewhere along the northeastern coast of England and the closest town was _almost_ as big as Sunnydale.

Perriwinkle Point was a charming little town and the fact that it only had two cemeteries meant that she didn't have to worry about anything of the undead variety unless it was being used in class for demonstrations.

She hadn't been to town yet, only passed through it as her bus was taking her from the train station to the Academy. The ride had been an hour long, and she had spent it starring out her window admiring the never-ending green scenery.

Half way between Wutherton Academy and the little town of Perriwinkle Point there was a white three story building with iron bars on its windows, and steel doors at nearly every entrance.

She had never seen it before but she had known it would be there and she knew that it was called Preston Medical Center after one of the Academy's most gifted alumni. It was the local hospital but it looked more like an insane asylum than anything else.

She also knew about the special elevator in the basement that lead down to the 'Special Cases' area.

The Special Cases area consisted of two floors, the first one was accessed by the elevator in the basement. It had two security check points, a nurses station, restrooms, a lounge, a vending machine the was bolted to the floor and a second elevator that lead one floor down to the holding cells and another small nurses station.

On this level there were twelve steel doors, each leading to a small cell with a cot and a toilet for the few patients who were actually allowed a modicum of mobility.

It was at Preston Medical Center, three floors below ground level that she was certain her best friend was being held in cell number 10, its door enhanced with powerful spells that made it very capable of holding a Vampire Slayer.

Three months ago, Buffy Summers had disappeared off the face of the planet without so much as a clue to where she had gone. Giles immediately suspected that the council was involved, he knew they were capable of it. He also knew that if they had taken her, then it was more than likely that she was in England, locked in cell number 10 beneath Preston Medical Center.

Two and a half months ago Willow, Xander, Oz, and Cordelia had all graduated from Sunnydale High School. It was around this time that Giles had shared his knowledge of this Hospital with her.

All Watchers' knew about Preston MC, it wasn't a secret it just wasn't talked about. If you graduated from Wutherton Academy, you weren't just handed a diploma. You were handed a set of instructions on what to do should your Slayer ever veer off course and require rehabilitation.

Willow was not only super smart, but she had been practicing her magic and was becoming quite good. She had acceptance letters from some of the best colleges in the country and a few in other countries.

But there was only one school that she was set on going to and it had required a good deal of work and a little white lie to get her there. She needed a special recommendation letter and since Giles was no longer on the Council's favorites list, she had been forced to turn to Wesley.

Wesley had been more than happy to write the letter, but only because he thought that she was truly interested in becoming a Watcher. He had no idea that her main purpose for applying to Wutherton was to find out information about Buffy.

If he had known, Wesley probably wouldn't have written such a good letter.

Willow didn't really trust Wesley because of his connection to the Council, and so he was the only one who didn't know her true intentions. Even Faith knew but she had sworn to keep it a secret from Wesley, she wanted Buffy back just as much as the rest of them.

Willow was kind of excited to be attending a secret and very prestigious school; they didn't let just anybody in. A student had to have superb academic promise, supernatural talent or both and Willow Rosenburg had both.

If she wasn't here to locate her missing friend, she was certain that she would be enjoying the school much more than she currently was. The only real down side was that she wouldn't get to see Oz for a while, his band had rented an RV and were determined to tour in every state they could on their way to New York.

A few days ago when they had spoken on the phone, the band was just arriving in Nevada and they were going to be staying for two weeks before moving on to Texas. As for his wolf transformations, Giles had given him some powerful tranquilizers that would knock him out before the transformation even took place.

So Willow was in England, a few thousand miles away from her home, her family and her friends.

Her classes were great and she was learning tons of stuff that she would never be able to learn anywhere else. Her roommate was decent enough, a brilliant girl from Minnesota who was dead set on becoming head of the Council. She had made it clear from day one that she wasn't stuck up but she didn't have time to make friends, which Willow found to be true once she got a look at the girl's class schedule.

As it turned out, very few people at this school kept their nose out of a book long enough for a friendly conversation. There were certainly a few exceptions, but there weren't many.

Her one and only friend on campus was strangely enough related to Oz, a cousin from Chicago who had a talent for ancient languages and summoning demons all of which he learned from his older brother, Tucker.

Andrew had gotten in to some trouble when he was in High school after he summoned a pack of demon monkeys to attack the school play. It had required high-level magic to summon that particular breed of demonic monkey and it got him noticed by the Watcher's Council.

They thought he showed great promise as long as he was on the side of good, so they sent him an early acceptance letter to Wutherton Academy to further his talents.

After finding out that his baby cousin was a werewolf, Oz wasn't surprised to learn that more of his relatives knew about the supernatural world.

When Willow had stepped off the bus for the first time, Andrew was waiting excitedly to greet and welcome her to Wutherton Academy. The first thing he did was make sure that she steered clear of the Rats, a small group of magic users with questionable morals but great talent. Most of them were magic junkies who used spells to get high or alter reality; they only dealt in mildly dangerous stuff but nothing that would get them kicked out of the Academy.

Willow had accidentally run in to a Rat who lived down the hallway from her in the dorms. Amy was probably the most powerful in the group and also the friendliest but she was definitely a magic junkie.

Andrew had nearly wet his pants when the girl had threatened to turn his skin inside out and turn him into a toad. They had several classes together, one of which he sat behind her and seemed to be constantly kicking her chair.

Andrew was continuing his education in Languages, and taking classes to enhance his magic skills. Because he had gotten in to trouble for using magic he was also taking some classes on the proper use of magic, these were the classes that he shared with Amy.

While he didn't have the smarts or the interest to become a Watcher his talent would likely prove useful to the council once he graduated.

Willow's courses were more centered on honing her magic skills and preparing her for the day when she would become a Watcher, that is if she actually graduated from Wutherton.

Though it was called a Watcher School it served the purpose of training both Watchers and students who were interested in becoming important characters in the war between good and evil.

Some came out good, like Giles and Wesley while others came out bad, like Ethan Rayne for example.

* * *

It was terrible to see her like this, so depressed and sick over her missing daughter. He hated that he didn't have the power to storm the place and rescue Buffy himself but as it was they would probably turn him into something or other before he even got close.

Going to the apartment to collect Buffy's things was hard on Joyce, but she had insisted on going with him and Faith.

Rent was three months passed due and since neither Buffy nor Spike could be found anywhere, the landlord wasn't going to wait around for them to comeback. An eviction notice for Buffy had been sent to Joyce in Sunnydale, stating that they had a week to clear the apartment before everything would be taken to the trash

Both Joyce and Giles had been very impressed with the apartment, thankful that she wasn't living in some broken down building with questionable neighbors but they didn't want to think about how she could possibly afford it without so much as a high school diploma.

Giles rented out a storage unit in Los Angeles where all of the furniture could be kept, while Joyce and Faith packed up all the clothes and personal items belonging to Buffy and Spike.

There wasn't much in Spike's room besides a few shirts, jeans and jewelry but they packed it anyways, just in case.

On their way out of the city, they ran into Lorne and Joyce tearfully thanked him for watching after her daughter.

Lorne regretted to report that he hadn't heard any news about Buffy or Spike but he would keep looking and call if he found anything.

He was in the process of trying to rebuild Caritas but with Buffy gone, his heart just wasn't in it. How could he possibly think about entertainment when his Kitty Cat was missing in action?

* * *

His whole body ached as muscles he didn't even realize he possessed were used and abused until they bent to his will. Or really the will of his drill sergeant, and man did that guy like to cause pain.

He lay down on his cot as he dropped an envelope on the table next to his bed.

If somebody had told Xander Harris that after high school he would be destined to go no further than his parents' basement, he would have just shrugged and agreed with them. If somebody had told him that he was going to join the army, he wouldn't have argued.

If somebody had told him that his cross-country road trip would actually land him both a job and a free ride to college, he would have laughed his ass off.

Of course it hadn't happened all at once, it was just one of those once in a lifetime things.

His road trip had started okay until his car broken down somewhere in New Mexico. He rented a hotel room at the nearest town and worked in a bar to pay for repairs. This was something that he had kind of expected to happen, he was Xander Harris after all and things hardly ever turned out the way he wanted them to.

The town that he was staying in was small and seemed like a nice enough place until he was walking home one night and got jumped by three vampires.

He put up a fight and managed to stake one of them before the other two tackled him to the ground.

Suddenly there was this electrical sound and the vampires turned to dust, a man dressed in black stealth gear helped him to his feet.

After glancing around he realized that there were four other similarly dressed characters behind him, the man who helped him up congratulated him on dusting the first vampire.

Xander had shrugged it off, mentioning something about having a little experience with vampires and before he knew it he was being offered a chance to join some top-secret group of demon hunters called the Initiative.

The man speaking to him was named Ortega and was training a group of rookies when they had stumbled upon Xander and the vampires.

The Initiative had a facility nearby where Xander joined up and began his training.

That was two and a half months ago.

Yesterday had been his last day of training and this morning he had received papers for where he was to be stationed. It was located near the college of his choice, UC Sunnydale; well actually it was located somewhere beneath the campus grounds.

He couldn't wait to see the look on everyone's faces when he came back to Sunnydale, he had actually found something that he could be good at, something that would make them proud of him.

He only wished Buffy would be there when he returned; she had been on his thoughts a lot while he was training. Thinking of his missing friend is what kept him going, he didn't know what would happen when they found her or when she came back but he wanted to be able to help.

Xander Harris wasn't going to sit on the sidelines anymore; he was going to be a useful part of the team.

Being stationed in Sunnydale meant a lot to him, it meant that he could protect the people in his hometown. He could protect Willow and Joyce and he would be a help to Faith instead of a liability.

Tomorrow he was going home to report in with his superiors and to see his family. He was a little disappointed that Willow and Oz wouldn't get to see him but it couldn't be helped. Willow was in England trying to find out if the council was actually behind Buffy's disappearance and Oz was touring with his band.

Xander glanced up as someone entered his tent, it was his tent mate, a tall friendly guy from Iowa.

"Hey, Xander you get your papers yet?"

"Yeah, did you?"

He handed his papers to Xander, "Looks like you and I are going to be together for a while."

Xander smiled, "You're going to Sunnydale too?"

The guy sat down on his cot, "I didn't really have a preference, but I've always been interested in psychology and UC Sunnydale has a great Psych program."

Xander handed the papers back, "With your experience they'll probably pick you to lead a team, that'll be cool."

The guy shrugged, "Maybe but you have just as much experience as I do and you'll know the town better than most of the guys there, there's no way you wont get a team."

Xander sighed, "Life has taught me a few things Riley, One is nothing good ever comes out of being in Sunnydale."

* * *

Ah, that new office smell. She loved that smell; it was the smell of success.

She grinned as she skimmed through the files on her new clients, clients that once belonged to Lindsey Mcdonald. In fact, all the documents that she now possessed had once belonged to him.

She wanted to laugh, just thinking about the coward. News that Darla and Angelus had been killed spread very quickly through Wolfram and Hart, as had news of the Slayer's disappearance.

He hadn't even stayed long enough to pack his things; Lindsey Mcdonald had just up and left. He knew he was going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble once word reached his superiors, but instead of facing it like a man he had run off to god knows where.

Not that she cared at all just so long as she got to take his place.

She hadn't lied to him when she told him that everything he was working on would be hers, including projects that he hadn't even started on.

She was most interested in the V.I.S and the little project that went with it but with Angelus and Darla out of the picture, the project would have to be put on hold until replacements could be found.

Her first step would have to be locating Buffy Summers and the Vampire. Both had disappeared after Angelus and Darla were killed. It was very likely that Spike had dusted in the fire but since the records department hadn't yet stamped his death into the file, she would have to look for him.

If Slayer and Vampire were together somewhere, that would just make her job a lot easier.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hope you guys like it so far, sorry it took so long for me to post this. I don't know when Chapter two will be up but I promise that I won't take as long as I did with this first chapter.

_I realize that I introduced a few characters that were not on the list (Andrew, Riley, and Amy) but don't worry I will be introducing the two new characters in Chapter two and three._

_**Amy **__won't actually be apart of the story; I just figured I'd throw some names in there. She is nothing like the Amy from the show except that she is a junkie. She has no ties whatsoever to Sunnydale. I want to make that clear._

_**Andrew**__, I made sure that he wasn't from Sunnydale either because it would have been just too strange a coincidence if a bunch of Sunnydale High kids go to Watcher School, that's why neither he nor Amy are from Sunnydale._

I always thought it was funny how Oz had a werewolf for a cousin so I figured if he has a cousin who is a werewolf why can't he have cousins who practice magic. I also wanted Willow to have a friend there. I have no idea what I am going to do with Andrew, for now he is just kind of Willow's sidekick.

_**Riley,**__ well I never really liked Riley but besides Oz, he was the only male friend that Xander had._

_I knew that Willow was going to be off at Wutherton and I wanted to find something for Xander to be doing. Something that would keep him busy, the poor guy never got a break on the show so I figured I'd cut him one in my story._

_And just to be clear, the Initiative that I am using wont turn out like it did in Season 4 of BtVS, the group that Xander has joined merely hunts down and kills demons._

_On the show Riley's group was in south America or what not and kind of traveled all over the place but for my story Riley and Xander are going to be fighting the demon population of Sunnydale for a while._

_One last thing before I go…I have never been to England. I have never been out of the country except to vacation in Mexico so I don't know what the weather is like. I did my best to research it a bit and from what I learned it rains a lot and it doesn't get anywhere near California weather._

**Perriwinkle Point **is a made up town so don't go trying to look for it, and if it does actually exist…my bad. The same thing goes for **Preston Medical Center** and **Wutherton Academy**, as far as I know they are non-existent places.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note:_

_I AM SOOOOO SORRY! So sorry guys, that it took me this long to get this chapter posted but I have been very busy with school and work. Not to mention the major writer's block that I got, unfortunately I don't think this chapter is everything that I had hoped it would be but it's the best that I could do. I thought it would be the easier one to write between Two and Three but I actually just finished writing half of chapter three._

_I hope you guys will forgive me and continue reading and leaving reviews, and once again I am so sorry for making you guys wait so long._

**Chapter Two**

There was nothing except the darkness, the silence and the warmth. Some sort of hell dimension most likely, but the warmth…it was not what one would have expected of a hell dimension. Instead of the pain of burning flesh there was only the sort of warmth that one would associate with the embrace of a loved one.

_"Do you enjoy this life of yours vampire?"_

The silence that seemed to have enveloped him for what felt like an eternity was suddenly broken.

"Never imagined that I would be joining up with the Slayer but I can't say that I hate it. A decent place to live, plenty of cash and a spot of violence once in a while. What more could a bloke ask for?"

_"By briefly aligning yourself with the Slayer you have begun a new path. A new destiny awaits."_

"Have I now? What destiny is that then?"

_"When the time come you will know, when you awaken from this slumber your journey will begin."_

"I'm not dead then? Dusted? Darla didn't do me in?"

_"Your physical body is unconscious, for now you are in a dream state but soon you will awaken and you will begin to fulfill a new destiny."_

"If I'm just sleepin' that means that I made it out, Buffy must've taken out Darla and Angelus then got me out of there. The Slayer saved me."

_"The Slayer has chosen her path, your journey with her is now at and end."_

"What'd you mean she's chosen a path?"

_"The Slayer abandoned her calling, her destiny. Now she lies at the mercy of a new fate. You need not concern yourself with her."_

"What the bleeding hell are you on about? Where is she? What have you done with Buffy?"

_"We have done nothing, she has made her choice. There are consequences for actions, your actions have given you a new destiny while hers will inevitably lead to her destruction."_

"Bollocks, all of it. You can keep my bleeding destiny, I want to know where Buffy is."

_"When you awaken, should you choose to pursue the Slayer you may soon find it to be a decision that you will regret."_

"Threatening me are you, if I don't do what you want you'll kill me or some rot like that?"

_"We do not make threats. We observe, we predict and we remember."_

"And you predict that I'll regret going after Buffy?"

_"You are understanding us well. Do you also understand that your choice will bring about consequences?"_

"I don't bloody care about the consequences, all I want is to make sure that she's okay."

_"Your choice is your own vampire; only know that you will not meet us again. When you awaken you will make the decision to accept your destiny or throw it away."_

* * *

The funny thing about being kicked in the head is that you are usually left with one hell of a migraine afterwards.

When Spike woke up two months later he was lying on a cot that was situated up against a wall in the living room of a rundown apartment, likely located somewhere on the bad part of town. To the right of him was a small kitchen with a small breakfast table and two chairs, and to his left were two doors. Across from him was a couch and a television set that was facing away from him.

He was confused, disoriented and worst of all he was hungry.

That was when the dark haired man came out of the room closest to Spike's cot, which turned out to be a bathroom.

"Who the buggering hell are you and where am I?" Spike demanded.

The man smiled and put his hands up, "Whoa take it easy there, we're all friends here. The name is Doyle and I'm your new best friend."

Spike sniffed and glared at the man before him, "You're a demon, what do you want with me?"

Doyle came closer and stood over the cot, "Half demon thank you very much and I just want to help. I've been sent by the Powers That Be to help you fulfill your destiny."

Spike snorted, "Right, I've got a destiny." He chuckled, "So you were sent by whoever was speakin' to me in that dream I had. Why would the Powers be interested in me, a vampire?"

Doyle walked over to the kitchen and pulled out a beer, "Look, you've been living the life so far. You go where you want, do what you want, kill who you want but then you meet a girl who changes everything."

"Buffy."

Doyle nodded, "Right, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the chosen one. You partnered up with her when her boy toy was ready to send the world to hell, then you hightailed it out of town with your sire until she dumped you for some other demon."

Spike snarled, "You have a point here, mate?"

"I'm getting there, like I was saying. After you and your sire split, you come back to Los Angeles to wallow in self pity only you hear a rumor that the Slayer has switched sides.

You seek her out and partner up with her again, the only problem is that she is still one of the good guys and you were supposed to be one of the bad guys."

"What'd you mean 'supposed to', I am one of the bad guys. I'm evil."

Doyle shook his head, "I'm sorry man but once you made the choice to join the Slayer for a second time you became one of the good guys. You even stopped her from joining up with Wolfram and Hart; if you hadn't been there she'd be lost to the dark side by now."

Spike shook his head, "This doesn't make any bleeding sense."

"You saved the Slayer; it was your first step towards redemption for your years as a killer."

"Yeah and what if I don't want this redemption, what if I want to keep on killing as a matter of fact I'm feeling a bit puckish right about now."

"It's too late my friend; The Powers That Be have seen your potential already and they want to help you."

Spike frowned, "Well you can just forget about it, I want nothing to do with this destiny or whatever your Powers have planned. All I want is to find Buffy."

Doyle sighed, "That's going to be a bit difficult in your current condition, when I got you out of there you were pretty burned up, would've dusted if I hadn't gotten there when I did."

Spike looked at his arms, they appeared to be normal as though he'd never been in any fire, "How'd you manage to find me anyways and why didn't you get Buffy out?"

"I get these visions, flashes of images, names, sounds, addresses sometimes. Mostly it isn't too clear but sometimes I get one that is so strong it's like I'm right there. That's how I knew where to find you; the Powers sent the vision to me because they wanted me to save you and to help you with your destiny."

Spike nodded, "They sent you a vision of me? What about Buffy, is she alright?"

"I can't say, I was only supposed to get you out of there. I can tell you that she didn't die in the fire, I got there just in time to rescue you before the Watcher's Council busted in and took her."

Spike growled, "Those bloody cowards, they waited until she couldn't fight back to take her away, when I get my hands on those bleeding wankers I swear I'm going to tear them apart."

"Slow down there, first you have to take care of yourself. Darla really did a number on you, I did what I could but the leg is still broken and it's healing very slowly. I'm afraid you won't be mobile for a while my friend."

Spike swore under his breath, "What the bleeding hell am I supposed to do, lie in bed until the bleeding thing heals up again?"

Doyle grinned, "I figured you weren't the type to sit around twiddlin' your thumbs so I got you a wheel chair, it won't get you far but there really isn't anywhere for you to go right now."

Spike swore under his breath again, what the hell had he ever done to end up back in a bleeding wheel chair. God, how he hated it. To be an invalid again for the second time in two and a half years, it was so humiliating. No wonder the Powers That Be thought he was goin' soft.

* * *

**_One Month Later (two months after the fight against Darla and Angelus. One month after Spike's dream and waking up to meet Doyle for the first time)_**

Spike groaned as he moved to sit up, the room seemed like it was spinning around and his head felt three times its normal size. Once the spinning stopped he managed to get a good look at his surroundings and he remembered where he was.

The front door banged open then and Doyle entered with a bag full of groceries in his arm. He kicked the door shut behind him and entered the living room, "Hey, hey Sleepin' Beauty's' awake, how's the head then?"

"Migraine again but it's gone now." He sniffed, "You get my blood and wheatabix?

He sat the grocery bag on the kitchen table, "I gotta say man, that's a nasty combination."

Spike shrugged, "Don't knock it till you tried it."

He moved around the kitchen putting everything away, "I found that friend of yours today, he's been performing over at the Rusty Dragon."

"Its about bloody time, I have to see him tonight."

"You really want to go through with this then; you're going to try to find her?"

"I will find her, no matter what it takes."

"Look I get that your in love with this girl but you've got to move on, we already know what happened to her why not just leave it at that and move on."

Spike snarled, "Listen here, I won't leave her with those council wankers, who knows what they've been doin' to her all this time."

"Alright, alright I get it." He sighed, "Let's get you up and ready to go."

Spike frowned, "You're joking right?"

"How else are you going to see this Lorne fellow?"

"This is bloody embarrassing." He muttered.

Doyle slapped him on the back, "Cheer up, you'll be back on your feet in no time."

Doyle rolled the wheel chair out of his bed room and helped Spike into it before they headed out the door to see Lorne. Because of his current condition Spike hadn't been able to get out very much and thus relied on Doyle to keep him informed of what was going on outside.

Spike was determined to find out where the council had taken Buffy, if they had done something to her and how to rescue her from them. His first step in finding her was to find Lorne, with any luck the green skinned demon might have some information or at the very least be able to help track her down.

As for Spike's leg, it was still healing but much too slowly in his opinion. Darla really had done a number on him, his leg should have been healing a lot faster than it was but because of his new diet the healing process was slow.

Mostly he stayed in and watched television or slept, the occasionally migraine crept up on him every now and then as a result of being kicked in the head but other than that he spent most of his days bored out of his mind.

The Rusty Dragon was small casino in downtown LA; it was a fairly decent place. It catered to both human and demon clientele which is probably why Spike's green skinned friend had chosen to perform there.

Spike and Doyle grabbed a table near the back and waited for Lorne to finish his performance.

Doyle took a sip of his beer and glanced at the vampire, "So what exactly do you think we're going to accomplish by talkin' to this pal of yours?"

Spike shrugged and took a swig or his own beer, "Dunno, Lorne's got connections. I reckon it's a good place to start."

The performance ended and Lorne disappeared backstage for a few minutes before heading out to reunite with Spike.

When he reached their table, Lorne couldn't hide his excitement over Spike's return that is until he saw the wheelchair.

"Billy baby, what have they done to you?" Lorne sat down across and ordered a fruity beverage.

Spike nodded his head, "Good to see you Lorne."

Lorne looked the handicapped vampire up and down, shaking his head in disappointment. " And here I thought I was the one having a terrible time of it with Caritas all burned down."

Spike shrugged, "I'm healing, be up on my feet in no time."

Lorne sighed and glanced at Doyle, noticing him for the first time, "Oh goodness where are my manners, whose your new friend?"

Doyle stuck his hand out, "Doyle at your service."

"Saved my skin this one did, got me out before I turned into a pile of dust."

Lorne glanced back and forth between the two of them, "And Buffy? Don't tell me she-"

Doyle shook his head, "NO, no Buffy's alive far as we know. The Watcher's Council nabbed her just a few minutes after I rescued Spike, here. Problem is we have no idea where they've taken her or what they plan to do."

Spike frowned, "You haven't heard anything, any information that could help find her?"

Lorne shook his head, "Not a peep and believe me I have been listening. What do you think I'm doing here? Truth is either nobody knows a thing or they're too afraid to talk about it, I didn't even know about you until just now."

Doyle glanced at Spike, "I think this was to be expected. The Watcher's Council is too stuffy a lot to be sharin' their doings with the demon world, especially not when it involves their slayers."

Lorne nodded, "I gotta be with this guy on that one, from what I've heard about the council they aren't to found of the non-human types."

Spike kicked the table with his good leg, "Damn it, I have to find her Lorne before they do something that I won't be able to stop. I have to save her."

"I'll keep my ear to the ground, make a few calls to some guys that are a little higher up on the food chain but I don't think the chances are very good."

Doyle pounded his fists on the table then and gripped his head in pain, "Oh sonofa-" he kicked the table a few times, his eyes screwing shut until finally it stopped.

Lorne glanced around not sure what had just happened, "Okay, what was that?"

Spike sighed, "He gets visions from The Powers that Be." He glanced at Doyle who was recovering, "Thought they weren't gonna help me anymore once I rejected their offer."

"Apparently they changed their minds." Doyle moaned.

Lorne looked at Spike, "whoa, slow down. What did the Powers offer you?"

Spike shrugged, "Something about redemption or some rot like that, told them I wasn't interested in anything but findin' Buffy."

"Are you insane, no scratch that, you must be insane if you rejected an offer like that? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinkin' that I don't give a sod about redemption, all I care about right now is Buffy." Spike growled.

Doyle grabbed a napkin and started scribbling things down, "I think we just got our first clue."

Spike turned to Doyle, "What'd you see?"

"Large demon cyborg thing massacring innocents up in Oregon, this girl tried to stop it ended up dead."

"Okay an' how does that help us?"

Doyle glanced up from his napkin, "She was a vampire slayer, when she died your girl Buffy was called."

Lorne frowned, "I'm still confused as to how this vision from the past can help us find Buffy, where was the clue?"

Doyle shoved the napkin to Spike, "The place where this little showdown, uh went down was called the Initiative."

"The Initiative." Spike whispered the words, trying to process them. He had never heard of it before and by the look of confusion on Lorne's face, he didn't know much either.

Doyle took a swig of his beer and leaned back in his chair, "From what I saw in my vision this Initiative place has got some major funding, it was some sort of underground facility or laboratory. My guess is that they built the robo-demon and couldn't shut it down."

Spike nodded, "funding would require lots of money, and I wouldn't put it past those Watchers's to be behind something like this. Maybe some new training exercise or something and the slayer didn't make it."

Lorne frowned, "I don't like the sound of this."

"Me neither, but it's all we've got to go on for now." Spike sighed, "Alright, let's see what we can find on this Initiative place."

"I'll try and contact a few guys I know up north, they may have heard of it."

Doyle nodded, "I'll do the same and pay a visit to the library maybe they had a website or something."

Spike sighed, "I guess all that's left for me to do is get my legs workin' again. I reckon that I'll be needing them pretty soon."

* * *

_Author's Note: Yeah I know, this chapter is kind o f a letdown, I'm fairly disappointed with it myself but I did what I had to do with it. Show you what happened to Spike, reunite with Lorne, Doyle gets a vision, and that little clue about the Initiative._

_In case you guys are wondering, I have changed what happened to the Initiative so that it actually happened to the Slayer before Buffy that is why Xander gets to join the **New** Initiative. I know it may be kind of confusing right now, you are all like: what does all this have to do with Buffy?_

_But trust me you will find out a little more about this in the very next chapter which should be up in just a few days, maybe sometime next week._


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: _Yes, I know it has been a long time since I have updated this story but I was just a little disappointed by the lack of reviews that I received for the second chapter, and I figured that people were beginning to lose interest. On top of that, I had some trouble with how I wanted this chapter to come out and I still feel as if this chapter could come out better but for now this is the way I will leave it. Despite my issues with it, I still hope that you guys enjoy it and I beg you to leave a review._

**Chapter Three**

The bells over the door jingled at Liz entered the bookstore. Her friend and Boss, Winifred Burkle, was already at the cash register ringing up a customer.

Fred smiled and waved at Liz before turning back to the customer and saying goodbye.

Liz lifted the strap of her messenger bag over her head and set it on the end of the counter before peeling off her grey jacket.

"Sorry I'm late Fred but I had another black out."

"Oh no, are you okay?"

Liz shrugged, "I think I'm starting to get used to it, but the headaches beforehand are getting worse."

Fred glanced down at the counter, she wanted to do something to help her friend but she just didn't know what to do.

Liz continued talking as she gathered her things and shoved them under the counter, "I think maybe it could have something to do with my amnesia, ya know lilke maybe my memories are trying to come back or something."

"That is a possibility, have you gone to a doctor about this yet?"

Liz frowned, "Not really, I don't have the money for it and to be honest I'm not too anxious to be back in a hospital anytime soon. I mean, I just out a few months ago."

"We need to find out what is causing your headaches and the blackouts, what if you have a blackout while you are cooking or in the shower? This is a serious and very dangerous situation Liz."

Liz sighed, "Maybe in a few weeks, my inheritance check is coming and depending on what I get, I may be able to afford a doctor's visit." She laughed, "And a better apartment."

"What are you going to do about all of your folk's property up in Oregon?"

"Sell it I guess, I don't want to leave sunny New Mexico for boring old Oregon and besides I was attending University here. If my family left me a lot of money I may be able to go back to school."

Fred shook her head and sighed, "Every time I think about what you have been through, it just breaks my heart and makes me so sad."

Liz smiled, "I'm okay though, alive and well thanks to the fabulous doctors in England who patched me up after the plane crash."

"It was so lucky that your passports and Ids didn't get burned up, and they were able to send you back to the United States, otherwise who knows where you would be now."

Liz rolled her eyes, she was used to Fred being so over concerned about things especially when it had to do with her, "Look, how about I make us some tea and we can talk about other things."

Fred nodded, "I like that idea, but I just bought these medicinal drops that are supposed to help you with the headaches, all you do is put some in your tea."

Liz smiled and hugged her friend, "You are such a good friend and you take such good care of me, I don't know where I would be without you Fred." She released her friend and went into the backroom to prepare their tea, oblivious to the look of guilt and concern on Fred's face.

About twenty minutes later as they were sipping their teas, Liz slid out of her chair and fell to the floor unconscious.

Fred nervously cleaned up the spilt tea and dragged her friend's limp body to the elevator that led down to the basement.

It took some struggling but she managed to get Liz's body to the her secret laboratory and onto an examining table. After scanning her friend's brain with some advanced machinery she sighed and picked up the phone to make a call.

"Quentin Travers here."

"Hi Mr. Travers, it's me Fred Burkle. Now I know you said I shouldn't call unless it was an emergency but I think it's real important that I talk to you about Liz."

"Very well, what seems to be the problem Miss Burkle?"

Fred glanced at her sleeping friend, "Liz has been suffering terrible headaches that are always followed by blackouts, and she says that the headaches are getting worse."

"I assure you that these are normal side effects, in a few weeks Miss Summerton will be just fine."

Fred frowned; she didn't like Travers very much. His lack of concern for Liz's health disturbed her but unfortunately she had no choice but to obey him, "Maybe if I know more about the Microchip that you put in her brain, what it does and how it works. I think I could better know how to help her."

"Out of the question Miss Burkle, your role in this situation is to keep an eye on Miss Summerton and ensure that the chip remains active and in proper working condition. "

"But Mr. Travers, I really think that-"

Travers didn't let her finish, "Miss Burkle, need I remind you that it was I who rescued you from the dimension of Pylea and I would not hesitate to return you there. Now, as I have explained to you previously, the chip is merely an aid in the recovery of Miss Summerton. Aside from that and your duties, there is nothing more that you need to know, is that understood?"

Fred gripped the phone tighter, and gritted her teeth, "Yes Mr. Travers, I understand."

"Was there anything else that you wanted to discuss Miss Burkle?"

"No sir, Thank you." She cast a side long glance at her friend, wishing desperately that she had more control of the situation.

"Very well, good day Miss Burkle."

Fred hung up the phone and moved over to Liz, she removed the wires that were connected to the girl's head and put the machine away. She then proceeded to drag Liz from the laboratory back to the elevator and took it up to her apartment above the store.

After leaving Liz to rest on the couch, she went back down stairs and locked the door to the lab before returning to work.

Fred hated that she had to lie to Liz but what choice did she have with Quentin Travers dangling Pylea over her head. She didn't trust him at all, but she had no way to know what his true intentions were. The thing that concerned her was the chip that she wasn't allowed to tell Liz about, whatever it did she would find out soon enough. From what she had been told it was currently in the process of self adjusting its settings and hopefully in a few short weeks it would become fully active.

If Liz started to act very strange or continued having problems after two weeks, she was going to call Travers back and Pylea or no Pylea she was going to demand that something be done.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Its been a long time since I updated this story and I do apologize for that but here I am making it up to you with not one new chapter but two new chapters and a third close on the way. So hopefully you guys can forgive me for taking so long._

**Chapter Four** _(Two Weeks Later)_

Four months ago Wesley Windham-Pryce had almost all but given up hope that he would ever meet a beautiful young woman. Fortunately luck was on his side, not only was he currently involved with the most incredible girl he'd ever met; he was also on great terms with the Council.

Travers had actually allowed him involvement in the Watcher's Council's new top secret project. Obviously he had to work on if from a distance because Faith's training took priority but it had been due to his precise language translations that they were able to the the S.C.S or 'Safety Control System' functioning properly.

Wesley was more than happy to be involved in the project if it meant improving Slay conditions for the girls. From what he had been told and the text that he had translated, the S.C.S would help Slayers track down vampires and demons to almost any exact location. No more 'sensing' and 'feelings', it was a radar of sorts. The translations he'd provided had unlocked some sort of demonic essence that could be picked up by an electronic device and tracked over long distances.

As traditional as he was, Wesley found it refreshing that the council seemed to be interested in finding new innovative ways to help Slayer hunt down vampires and demons. To some people the Council had always seemed cold, distant and uncaring when it came down to a Slayer's well being but the S.C.S would prove otherwise. To be honest Wesley had been a bit nervous about the Watcher's Council, the whole Buffy Summers ordeal had left him confused not to mention his relationship with Faith. He had felt very divided; unsure of what side he was really on.

His loyalty to the Council meant that he had to help them capture the rogue Slayer so that she could be 'rehabilitated', however his feelings toward Faith were strong as well and he knew that she was friends with Buffy and believed the blonde Slayer to be good.

Lying to Faith about Buffy didn't feel right but it was necessary. As much as he cared about her, he knew that Faith was much to young and naïve to realize that Buffy's behavior was wrong.

The guilt that he felt about lying to Faith stayed with him over the four months that they were together but eventually he forgot about it once the Council called on him to help with the S.C.S.

Mornings were spent training with Faith in the library or at his apartment, during the afternoon he worked on translations while Faith was busy working at some new Italian restaurant and at night, after patrols, they dove into bed to work off some stress before falling asleep in each other's arms. It was all he could have asked for and more.

Two weeks ago he finished translating the text and completed his work on the project. To be able to see for himself that the S.C.S was a success would have been nice but Travers assured him that once it had been tested and perfected, he would get to see the final results.

During the whole time that he had been working on his texts, he had been completely oblivious to Faith's behaviour. He didn't know that she was working behind his back to find Buffy and bring her home. She spent a lot of time with the gang before they'd gone off their separate ways; after they left she devoted her free afternoons to Joyce and Giles.

After Wesley completed his task, his afternoons cleared up and he began to notice the amount of time that Faith spent in Giles company. When he brought it up to her Faith coolly shrugged it off.

"Chill out Wes, Giles is cool ya know? Its not like he's tryin' to brainwash me or anything, Joyce has been sick lately and I'm not exactly the care giver type. He stays over sometimes to take care of her. She needs me now that B has disappeared again, I think they both do."

How could he argue with that? As much as he disapproved of Faith being around Giles he couldn't ask her to stay away. Joyce's illness as serious and she needed looking after, obviously Giles felt part of the family and would want to be around to care for her. For the time being, Wesley decided that he wouldn't worry about Giles, there was little that he could do anyways with Buffy in the Council's custody.

* * *

Riley gave a low whistle as he and Xander stepped off the bus, "Man, I thought you said this town was small, my hometown isn't even half this size."

Xander shrugged, "I guess compared to hickville, Sunnydale must seem like Chicago to you but believe me this is a small town. A third of this town is made up of graveyards, alone."

Riley laughed as they walked away from the bus, both of them with identical green duffel bags thrown over their shoulders. Xander had sold his beat up vehicle when he joined the Initiative, which was why he had been riding the bus but at least he had enough money to buy a new one now that he was back in Sunnydale.

Xander sucked in a deep breath, he hadn't talked to his friends in months, all because he wanted to surprise them with his new training but now he was wishing that he had told someone.

As they stood at the bus station waiting for a cab, the two of them discussed where they would be staying for the night.

"I would invite you to my place but my family lives there so that's not a good idea" Xander joked.

Riley chuckled, "They're that bad?"

"You have no idea but its cool, I think I know a place where you can crash for a night or two."

An hour later they were standing in front of the Summers home waiting for some one to answer the door.

"You remember I told you about my friend Buffy?"

Riley nodded, "Blonde, cute, run away?"

"Yeah, this is her house. I figure since she isn't here, there'll be room for you to stay."

The door opened just then and a weary looking Giles greeted them, "Xander, welcome back. I had no idea that you'd returned from your trip."

"Hey Giles, yeah I just got back today actually." He put a hand on Riley's shoulder, "This is a friend of mine, Riley Finn. Riley this is Rupert Giles, but we just call him Giles."

Riley stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you sir."

Giles shook his hand and ushered them into the living room, "Come in, come in. Its good to see that you've returned in one piece."

Xander grinned, "I'm back, pretty much for good. I know I didn't call but I was kinda busy you know."

Giles nodded, "After what we've all been through the last few years, it would have been nice to receive a phone call but I realize that perhaps you just wanted some space to collect your thoughts. I imagine that you came here to see Joyce and Faith."

"Its kinda late, Faith is probably out but I was hoping Joyce might be around. I was hoping she would let Riley stay here a few nights."

Giles sighed, "I don't see any problems with that arrangement however, Joyce has been rather sick lately and Buffy's most recent disappearance hasn't helped the matter. As for Faith, she is at work at the moment but she'll be off in an hour or so. She'll probably stop by before she goes back out to um-study."

"Oh man, Joyce is sick? How bad is it Giles?"

The Watcher sighed, "She gets headaches quite frequently, the doctors aren't sure what it is just yet but she will be going in to have some tests done in a few days."

Xander sighed, "We need to find Buffy and fast."

"Willow is working on that, she seems to be enjoying her classes but she hasn't been able to locate any information on Buffy yet."

Riley nudged Xander, "Hey maybe I should go, I've got money for a hotel room and besides you guys seem like you've got a lot on your plate already, I don't want to impose."

Giles shook his head, "Nonsense, you can certainly stay here for as long as you need to. Faith usually spends the night at Wesley's apartment so I foresee no problems in you staying here. You can take Buffy's room for now, I'll be down here on the couch if you need anything."

Xander frowned, "Wait, so Faith isn't even bothering to help with Joyce? She just runs over and cuddles with her honey?"

Giles shook his head, "No of course not, Faith has been very helpful actually. She cares a great deal about, she spends a lot of time here looking after Joyce as best she can."

Xander nodded, "Well alright, I guess I'll show Riley up to Buffy's room." He turned to his fellow soldier, "We can meet up in the morning and I can show you around town."

* * *

The second that he woke up, he knew immediately that things were starting to look up.

Spike was so ecstatic that he very nearly kissed Doyle; with his legs working again he could finally get up off his ass and do something.

As soon as he realized that he could walk again, Spike took the nearest sewer access to a demon bar and picked a fight with the biggest, ugliest sucker around.

After the excitement wore off he had Doyle call up Lorne and set up a meeting time do discuss rescuing Buffy.

At the Rusty Dragon, Spike and Doyle waited patiently for Lorne to finish his performace and join them at their table.

"Billy baby, there's a glow about you today!"

Spike grinned, "Damn right there's a glow, Ol' Spike is back on his bloody feet and ready to tear some heads off."

Lorned smiled, "Take it easy there buddy, I think I've got just what you boys are looking for."

Doyle sighed and reached for his beer, "'bout time too, you won't believe how much of a whiner this guy is."

"Watch yourself mate, I don't whine."

"Oh really? That was you whining all week long about-"

Lorne held up his hands, "Boys, boys lets focus. My Kitten is still out there."

Spike nodded, "Right, what were you sayin a moment ago, did you find a lead?"

Lorne leaned towards them with his arms resting on the table, "I managed to track down a friend of mine in New York who knows a guy with a connection to the Watcher's Council. This guy has a small collection of Watcher's Diaries, which you can convince him to let you take a peak at."

Doyle clapped his hands together, "Perfect, a guy with inside information on the Council, now we can find out why the Powers That Be send me that vision of that dead Slayer."

Spike reclined in his chair, "How soon can we meet this guy Lorne?"

The green skinned demon shrugged, "Up to you big guy, how soon can you get to New York?"

"That's all the way across the country and I'm a bleedin' vampire."

Doyle shook his head, "Don't worry about it, I'll handle travel plans, our best bet is by Train. Less chance of you getting caught by Mr. Sunshine."

Lorne reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card, "The guy's name is Robin Wood, the address is on the card."

Spike took the card and studied the address before glancing back at Lorne, "A high school?"

"It's the only address my friend had available on the guy, Wood works at the School and its probably the best place to meet him considering the fact that he doesn't even know you're coming."

Spike nodded, "And you're sure I can trust this Wood fellow?"

Lorned flashed a toothy grin, "I can guarantee that Robin Wood is trustworthy, he doesn't trust the council anymore than we do."

Doyle sipped his beer, "Yeah? Whys that?"

"I'll let Wood fill you in when you find him."

Spike took a swig of his own beer and lit up a cigarette, "I dunno about you boys, but I have a feeling that this Robin Wood will be able to help us find Buffy in no time."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The last two weeks had been fairly uneventful; if you don't count the day that Amy very nearly turned Andrew into a toad, instead opting to turn him into a mouse for a full 24hrs.

For the most part, Willow hadn't made much progress towards breaking into the Hospital.

She enjoyed her classes and she was learning a lot, even her magic had improved to some degree but not enough to assist her on this venture.

She needed a plan on how to get in and out of the Hospital without getting caught. Her job was realtivly simple, all she had to do was get into the records and find out whether or not Buffy was being held there. If Buffy was being held captive in the 'Special Cases' Area then the gang would have to come to England and figure out a plan to get her out.

From what Giles had told her it was most likely that the records Willow needed were kept separate from the Hospitals civilian records. In which case she would have to find a way to get in the basement and down to the Nurse's station in the 'Special Cases' area.

Of course, an invisible spell had occurred to her immediately but unfortunately she wasn't nearly powerful enough to work one, or atleast a good one.

"Willow!"

The red headed witch was pulled from her thoughts at Andrew's high pitched screetch, she glanced at him from across their small round table, "Huh?"

Andrew sighed, "You spaced out on me."

They were sitting inside a small café, enjoying a day in town. For Willow it was more of a chance to get away from her professors watchful eyes than anything else. It was also a chance to concentrate on the real reason that she was here, and that was rescuing Buffy.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff." She shrugged.

"What were you thinking about, maybe I can help you. Is it school work because I could tutor you if you need help, I'm a year ahead of you remember?"

Willow smiled and shook her head, "No, it has nothing to do with school really. I was just thinking about my friends back home."

Andrew nodded, "Oh of course, I guess you miss them a lot."

"I do. I miss Oz too."

Andrew's face lit up at the mention of his cousin, "Hey yeah, when does his tour end. I haven't seen him in forever, it would be so great if he came to visit us after his tour."

Willow sighed, "He promised me that he'd call when they got to Texas, their lead singer Devon came down with food poisoning so they're stuck in Denver for awhile."

"Well you know Willow, you can always invite your friends up here to see you."

"I thought that was against School Rules, the Academy is supposed to be a secret from the general public."

Andrew grinned, "Rules are meant to be broken, besides with the right spells no one would even know your friends are here."

It occurred to Willow then that perhaps she didn't have to do this alone, enlisting Andrew's help in rescuing Buffy might be a good idea. She knew that she could trust him not to report her or anything but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to involve him. If she got caught it would mean expulsion or worse.

Willow leaned in close to her friend and whispered, "Andrew, what if I told you that I was here as a spy?"

The blonde's eyes went wide, "That. Would. Be. So. Awesome!" he squeaked in little more than a high-pitched whisper.

* * *

Her inheritance check was larger than she thought it would be, more than enough to cover a simple check up. Liz quickly followed Fred's advice and saw a doctor about her headaches and blackouts but he assured her that she was in perfect health.

A full week after her trip to the doctor, Liz noticed that she hadn't suffered any headaches or blackouts the entire week. When she told Fred the news, the young bookstore owner smiled and embraced her friend.

They made plans to go catch a movie at the theatre on Saturday but then something happened…

Liz sat on her bed going through a stack of bills, deciding which ones were serious enough for her to use her inheritance on first.

It was a strange kind of feeling, having that sort of money with no actual memory of having earned it. She had been told that her father was an investor and owned several properties while her mother owned an interior decorating business. This information served the purpose of explaining her family's money but it didn't make her feel any better about spending it.

She felt so disconnected from her family, even though it was only because of her memory loss, apart of her still felt as though the money didn't really belong to her.

Liz glanced over her water bill, it was defiantly more than her salary could afford. She stuck it in the 'inheritance' pile with a sigh. That pile was so much bigger than the 'Salary' pile which only held her 'overdue' fee from the local video store.

Just as she was about to pick up the next bill, there was a sharp pain in her head. It only lasted a minute but it had been excruciating. She rubbed her temples in an effort to erase the memory of the pain from her mind but to no avail.

At first she thought perhaps the headaches had returned but no, this pain was much worse.

Liz gripped her head as another sharp pain exploded in her head, this one felt more like an electric shock. She fell backwards on the bed, clutching her head as another skull splitting pain hit her and it seemed to be worse that the first two.

Liz writhed on the bed, gritting her teeth as more pain took hold of her, then everything went black and she lay motionless.

A full minute passed before her eyes snapped open.

Slowly and lithely she sat up, almost like a puppet on strings. She glanced around at her surroundings from a different, and very analytical perspective. With very stiff and precise movements she got up from the bed and walked over to the closet.

Kneeling down, she pulled forward a brown trunk that was kept shut with a thick metal lock to which she did not have a key.

Grasping the lock tightly in one hand she yanked down hard and the lock broke off into pieces. Inside the trunk was a pair of black leather boots, black jeans, 3 shirts a black leather jacket, several weapons, crosses and a few bottles of Holy Water.

Quickly she changed into the other clothes, opting for a white t-shirt, she then grabbed two stakes, a vial of Holy Water and the Crossbow. When she was finished gearing up, she walked over to the window of the 3rd floor apartment and jumped out, landing in a crouch.

As soon as she was on the ground her head snapped to her right, she could sense a vampire about 5miles away in that direction and immediately she took off after it.

By four in the morning she climbed back into the window, put the weapons away and laid down in bed to sleep.

Liz later woke up around 8 in the morning, feeling an ache in her muscles that usually comes with serious exercise. Remebering the pain in her head from the night before, she glanced down at her clothes expecting to see what she had been wearing yesterday. Instead she was shocked to see that she was now wearing clothes that she had no recollection of ever owning.

Liz jumped out the bed to examine herself and immediately noticed the open trunk and broken lock on the floor.

When she had first moved into the apartment, she had no idea what was in the trunk. She had known that it was hers but hadn't been able to open it, now it was sitting there lid open and lock broken.

Liz knelt down in front of it and looked inside at the strange items, shirts, weapons, wooden crosses and several bottles of what appeared to be Holy Water. How could these things possibly belong to her? Had she been in some soft of cult or gang before her accident?

Liz closed the trunk and pushed it away, just another strange puzzle piece to her former life.

Unsure of what had transpired last night, she decided that it would be best not to say anything to Fred about the incident. She didn't want to give her friend any cause to worry more.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Just wanted to say thanks for all of the great reviews so far. I know I haven't been very quick with the updates but I haven't forgotten you. I hope things haven't become too confusing for anyone. I know personally its kinda hard for me to keep track of how much time has passed in the world of HotY and BB. Anyways I just wanted to clear a few things up real quick._

**_1)Buffy and Liz are the same person, but obviously Buffy doesn't remember who she is and thinks that she is this other person with a rich but dead family. That will all be cleared up in the next few chapters, as our other characters continue their investigation into Buffy's disappearance and whereabouts._**

**_2)The stuff that Wesley was working on does have something to do with the Microchip in Buffy's head. In case it was unclear, the stuff that he translated it was allowed her Slayer alter ego to track down vampires in the previous chapter._**

**_3)For some inexplicable reason Xander and Riley are kind of unimportant right now, I don't know what will really be done with them except that obviously they have joined the New Initiative (no demon experiments or whatever). I wanted to establish a connection between the Initiative and our characters so that's where Xander came in._**

**_4)I don't know if any of you remembered what state Xander was stranded in when he decided to join the New Initiative but it was New Mexico. Where is Buffy aka Liz living right now? New Mexico, and yes the same town but no, I don't think they were their at the same time. Honestly I've jumped forward in time so much with this story that even I am a little confused on the timeline of things. Lol. I have to go over the timeline of things and get my dates straightened out again when I do I'll be able to figure out if they were there at the same time. _**

**_5)I know that many of you share my dislike of Riley, so I just wanted to put you all at ease. No he won't be a very big character, I haven't written him to be one thus far but I believe that he will most likely be in the next sequel for a short period of time but I have yet to start any writing or planning on the sequel. _**

**_6)The final thing that I wanted to mention and apologize for is, I had planned to get out two chapters to you today but as I was writing chapter 7 I kinda looked back over it and realized that most of it was crap. So I can only give you chapter 6 for now but I will try to hurry up and rewrite 7 as quick as possible and post it up with chapter 8. _**

**_Keep in mind: Patience is a Virtue and this story needs Reviews to survive. _**

**Chapter Six**

"Yes Sir, I've just finished confirming the location now."

Lilah swiveled around in her chair to face her desk, shuffling through some files as she spoke on her office phone.

"The Slayer, known as Buffy Summers was taken by the Council on the night of the fire. No sir, from what I can tell she was being rehabilitated up until recently and currently lives in sunny New Mexico."

Lilah leaned back in her chair, "I'm keeping a close eye on the situation but I think its best to leave her where she is for the time being. The Council is monitoring her very closely, extracting Buffy Summers now could cause a retaliation from the Council which is something that we don't want."

Lilah nodded her head as she listened to the person on the other end of the line, "We are still trying to track down the vampire known as William the Bloody, if he is alive and I believe that he is, then he has been very careful to stay under the radar. No one has seen or heard from him but I've got my men working twenty four hours to track him down."

Lilah grinned, "Yes sir, thank you."

* * *

Quentin Travers quickly made his way down the freshly painted hallway of the Council's new Science and Technology wing. It had only been built four years ago but it was already buzzing with activity.

Travers continued down the hallway until he reached a door labeled: SCS6. He quickly swiped his security card and entered the room when the door clicked.

The room was fairly small and dark, the only light came from two yellow florescent bulbs hanging over head and the glow of the computer monitors. There were several computers, monitoring things such as brain activity, heart rate, blood pressure, geographical location and other things.

In the back of the room was a single door that led to a small living quarters, in the center of it all sat a young man of about 20 with dark hair and a pair of black framed lenses. He spun around in his chair at the sound of Travers entering the room, quickly buttoning up his dress shirt to hide a mustard stain.

"Mr. Travers, s-sir." He stammered.

"Good afternoon Warren how is Ms. Summerton today?" he asked, obviously annoyed by the young man.

Warren grinned, "She's doing great Mr. Travers, the Slayer Control System is up and running perfectly."

Travers studied the screens and nodded, "Excellent and Ms. Summerton's health, I trust that is 'perfect' as well?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine. I've kept a close watch on her the past two weeks and then yesterday when the chip became fully operational."

"Good, continue watching the Chip's activity as well as Ms. Summerton's brain and heart activity. I'll want a full status report at the end of the month as well as an observation report."

"Yes sir."

"If anything should change I want to be notified right away. If Ms. Summerton so much as catches a cold."

"No problem." Warren shrugged, "I designed the Tracking device in the Chip to monitor any type of physical, mental or emotional change in her system. Girl can't get her monthlies with me knowing about it."

Travers glanced at Warren sternly, unimpressed. "I mean it Warren, there can be no mistakes. I've waited to long for this and I'll be damned if it isn't a success."

Warren shook his head, "Yeah no I got it. No mistakes, I just didn't realize that this chick was such a big deal to you."

Travers looked at the computer monitors one last time, "Ms. Summerton is expendable, the Chip is what is important. I'm sure as a Scientist you are well aware of normal procedure in projects such as this one. Any flaws in the chip must be dealt with immediately, Ms. Summerton is just a test subject to help us uncover those flaws." With that he turned and left.

* * *

A heavy beat was pumping through the club as the two young soldiers made their way inside.

"Wow, this place is packed tonight." Muttered Riley.

"What?" Xander shouted, as he glanced around for a table.

Riley stepped closer, "I said this place is kind of full tonight."

Xander nodded, "Yeah, the Bronze is pretty much always like this. Its only slow during the daytime, most of the patrons are usually at school."

Riley followed close behind as Xander scored them a table right on the edge of the dance floor, "You come to this place often?"

"Oh yeah. Me, Willow and Buffy used to hang out here all the time before everything happened."

"So what are we doing here exactly, you gonna ask me to dance Harris?" Riley joked.

Xander laughed, "Maybe next time, tonight we are here in search of Sunnydale's elusive vampire slayer."

"I see."

"Giles said that she was out and if I know Faith, she's here somewhere." He quickly scanned the bar area.

Riley scanned the dance floor, though he had no idea what she looked like. His attention was suddenly drawn to a small group in the middle of the dance floor. Two girls and two guys, dancing franticly to the music, their bodies moving against each other.

The first girl was a tall blonde, and the shorter girl a brunette. The two of them danced as if in their own world, not quite paying attention to the guys that danced around them.

Riley managed to tear his eyes away long enough to get Xander's attention, "Hey, check that out."

Xander looked in the direction his friend was pointing, "Oh hey, there's Faith. She's the dark haired one in the tight pants."

Riley watched her for a few more minutes as she led on of the guys off the dance floor to where, he could only imagine. "Doesn't she have a boyfriend?"

Xander nodded, "She's dating Wesley, why?"

"I just saw her leave with some guy."

Xander sighed, "Lemme guess. Badly dressed, too lame to ever be able to score a girl like her?"

"I guess yeah."

"Kinda pale for a resident of California?"

"Maybe, I didn't get a good look."

Xander stood up, "Vampire."

Riley looked up at him, "She left with a vampire, is he Wesley?"

Xander laughed, "No, its this whole hunter/prey thing that she does. We better go see if she needs any help."

Outside in the alley, Faith was trading blows with the vampire that she'd been dancing with just minutes ago. Since it was just a lone vamp, they just stayed back and watched as she fought with it. The fight didn't last very long though, as the vamp seemed to be little more than a mere fledgling.

Faith sighed and dusted herself off, "What a waste, just as I was getting in to it too."

Xander smiled, "You haven't changed a bit, Faith."

The brunette slayer looked up and grinned, "Hey, Hey Xander welcome back. G-man told me you got in yesterday but I had to meet up with Wes. You know how it is."

"Yeah, we did. Staying at Joyce's place for now."

Faith nodded at Riley, hands on her hips. "Who's the stud? Yer new boyfriend?"

Riley turned pink and stuck out his hand, "Uh, Riley Finn. I'm just a friend actually."

Faith shrugged, "So I guess by the lack of freak out that Stud here knows about vamps and slayers?"

Riley shoved his hand in his pocket, "I do actually, I've known about vampires for a long time but I thought Slayers were just a myth until I met Xander."

"A myth huh? Well I'm as real as they get so watch yourself. I ain't no sugar, spice and everything nice, this is my town right now and I don't take anybody's crap."

Riley grinned and held his hands up, "Hey, hey I'm on your side here."

Xander slapped his forehead, "Oh right, that's what I wanted to tell you about."

"Save the story till we get inside, man I could eat a horse right about now."

Back inside the Bronze, Xander began to tell her about his failed roadtrip and how he had his run in with vamps and the New Initiative in New Mexico. He then went on to explain how he joined up and trained for several months, developing his fighting skills among other things.

All the while Faith ate her way through a plate of ribs, nachos and a fried onion flower. She leaned back in her chair as Xander got to the part about their arrival in Sunnydale, "So what are you like all super soldier now?"

Xander shrugged, "You could say that, I guess."

"We aren't nearly as strong as you are but we can hold our own in a fight." Riley explained.

Faith grinned and slapped Xander on the shoulder causing him to wince, "Well good for you, Harris finally became a man."

Xander rubbed his shoulder, "Okay first of all, Ow still a fragil human here. Second of all, Hey! I resent that. I became a man a few years ago thank you very much."

Faith laughed, "What when you were with that Chearleader? Don't tell me princess actually put out?"

Xander blushed, "Cordelia Chase."

"Yeah, yeah her. What happened to that chick anyways?"

Xander shrugged, "We broke up, she went off to New York to pursue her acting career with a little help from Daddy's money."

Faith leaned forward, elbows on the table. "No way, cheerleader is in New York. If I had known I woulda hooked her up with my man Wood, dude needs to get laid asap ya know."

Xander scoffed, " 'Wood' this guy in a gang or something cause gangbanger isn't really her type."

Faith laughed and shook her head, "Wood hasn't been in a gang for years before I was a Slayer. Whole name is Robin Wood, decent guy and he's a principle now. You believe that?"

"That's good that your friend turned his life around." Riley shrugged.

Faith glanced at the young soldier, "So Stud, whats your story? How'd you get mixed up with the super soldiers?"

Riley coughed, "We're really not that super or anything we just trained really hard."

"Really, really hard." Xander emphasized.

Faith shrugged, "So how'd you figure out that you wanted to hunt vamps and demons?"

Riley sighed, "My whole family is military so I've grown up wanting to be a soldier and serve my country. An Uncle of mine actually got me into the Initiative, that's when I first learned about vampires and demons."

Faith grinned, "First time I saw a vamp scarred the crap outta me then my watcher tossed me a stake and I dusted the bloodsucker before he could sink his fangs in me."

"How long have you been fighting? I mean how does that work the Slayer thing?"

"I've only been doin this for about 3 years, my watcher died a while back so I came out here to meet the famous Buffy Summers."

Riley nodded, "I'm kind of interested in meeting this girl myself. I've heard a lot about her from Xander."

Xander shrugged, "I think you'd like her, you both will probably get along great."

Faith eyed Xander, if she didn't know any better she would think that he was trying to set Riley up with Buffy and that just wouldn't do. Xander caught her looking at him and shrugged.

Faith grinned then, no way was she gonna let him try and hook up Stud with B. She turned to Riley, "Yeah B is pretty cool. She has a pretty wicked boyfriend too, guy named Spike, now that guy is pretty hot."

"Boyfriend?" Riley frowned.

Xander glared at the dark haired Slayer, "Spike isn't really her boyfriend. He's just a guy, a vampire that likes to hang around."

Faith shook her head, "Spike and B are totally an item. They have a place remember, lived together for like a year."

"_Had_ a place," Xander shot back, "Besides both of them are missing now."

"Maybe they eloped." Faith shrugged.

Xander choked on the thought of Buffy running off to marry Spike.

"A vampire?" Riley asked, confused.

Faith turned back to face the blonde soldier again satisfied that Xander was out of the game, " yeah, Spike is a vamp but he's totally cool. Doesn't even feed off of humans, Bs got him on a pig's blood diet."

Riley sighed, "I'm still trying to work that in my brain. Buffy who is a Vampire Slayer is dating a vampire?"

Faith laughed, "You aren't just good looking, you're smart too."

Riley frowned, "I don't know, disappearing on her family and friends, dating the enemy…this girl seems a little irresponsible."

"It wasn't like that Stud, save the judgments okay? You don't even know her yet."

Riley nodded, "You're right. I'm sorry, I really shouldn't judge like that. The fact that she's dating a vampire still throws me but if he's been tamed maybe…"

Faith leaned back in her chair, she wasn't very fond of Stud and he especially wasn't good enough for B. Aside from being some soldier dude, she had a feeling that Riley was a fairly dull person. He was cute enough sure, maybe if she wasn't already dating Wesley she would consider a nice roll in the hay with him but that was about it. Use him and lose him that was her policy with these dull, studly types.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Funny thing, I honestly thought I had posted this a few weeks ago. Here I was busily typing away on Chapter 7 and it slipped my mind that you guys were still waiting for 6, so once again sorry for the long wait. Chapter 7 will be up in a few days for sure. _

_You guys are amazingly patient with me and I thank you for it._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note: **__Yeah, yeah…long wait…blah blah blah. I'm a busy person, I don't have time to be feeding into your sad obsessions. Huh? It's been over a year since I updated? Oh…Well damn…My bad…Uh…Forget all that other stuff I said…*slinks away into the shadows* _

**Chapter Seven**

Giles paced the length of the hospital's lounge, anxiously waiting for the doctor to return with the results of Joyce's tests. He had dropped her off the night before with a bag or her things then returned home and sat on the back porch with a bottle of scotch until dawn. His hair was sticking up a little from the 3 hours he'd spent with his head in his hands. At about 6am he finally fell asleep on the couch only to wake up again at noon so that I could check on Joyce and hear the results of her tests.

Giles paused in his pacing to glance at the clock, it was nearly one. He was about to start pacing again when the double swinging doors opened and out came Dr. Newman with his little clipboard.

Giles stepped forward as the doctor approached him, "How is she?"

Dr. Newman sighed, "Right now she's doing fine, she's resting in her room. Unfortunately it seems that Ms. Summers has a brain tumor."

Giles removed his glasses, "Dear lord" suddenly he couldn't remember why he was holding his glasses, "Is-is there anything to be done? A surgery perhaps or-or some type of medicine?"

"We'll have to do a few more tests but so far it looks like we should be able to remove it before it has a chance to grow."

"And she'll be fine after its gone, healthy?"

"If all goes well, yes but theres always risk involved in these things. We'll keep her overnight for observation and she can go home tomorrow but she'll have to come back in a few weeks for a few more tests."

"Yes of course, thank you." The doctor nodded and walked away.

Giles dropped down into an empty seat and put his head in his hands.

* * *

Wesley glanced at the clock on his bedside table as he reached for his glasses. It was almost midnight and Faith had yet to call him, she should've been just about done with patrols and on her way over to his apartment.

He took a quick glance at his watch then, with a sigh, shoved the covers off and went to the kitchen for a beer. Faith had gotten him into drinking the stuff in an effort to get him to loosen up, her favorite was the lime flavored Corona light and she insisted that he always have some in stock.

"Those Mexicans know how to drink." She'd said, "I think they invented Tequila too, coupla shots of that stuff and you'll be floatin' on clouds all night."

Wesley sat down on the couch and glanced at the phone sitting on his coffee table, "Where could she be?" he muttered to himself as he took a swig of his beer. He sat there for a while just sipping his beer and tracing the plaid patterns on his sweatpants. Just as he was starting to doze off, the phone rang, startling him and causing him to drop his half finished bottle on the carpet.

"Oh Bloody hell." He groaned as he ran to the kitchen for a towel.

The phone rang again.

"Hang on a bleeding second!" he yelled as he quickly patted at the wet carpet, hopefully there wouldn't be any stain.

By the fourth ring Wesley snatched up the reciever and put it to his ear, "Hello?"

"It's Travers."

"Oh, Mr. Travers. Yes,Um…What can I do for you?"

"I merely called to congratulate you on translating those texts that I sent, so far the project is a success. It's still too early to tell for certain but I've got a good feeling about this."

"Yes, well…thank you for keeping me informed."

"Not at all, have a good night Mr. Wyndam Pryce."

"Uh..You as well."

After hanging up the phone, Wesley headed back to his room and sat his glasses back on the bedside table. He was too tired to be joyous over the success of Traver's project. He started to pull the covers over him when the phone rang again, this time it was Faith.

"Faith, where have you been?"

"The daddy routine is a good look for you Wes, maybe I'll buy a costume." She half joked.

Wesley sighed, "Very funny Faith, I only meant that I was concerned. I haven't heard from you all night."

"Sorry, got caught up with the slaying, there was this nest downtown that was crawlin' with vamps. I called up Xander and his pal Riley to help clean it out. Figured the boys might want a piece of the action."

"Is everything alright, how did it go?"

"I must've dusted like 10 of 'em myself but Harris and Riley did pretty decent too. I was impressed and believe me that doesn't happen often, best part was when Riley threw that grenade and blew the rest of those blood suckers straight to hell. It was wild Wes, you should've been there."

"It certainly does sound exciting. I'm impressed that Xander and this Riley fellow were able to do so well."

"Oh yeah, they trained for months with the military or something. Harris has definitely picked up some skill."

"I'm glad for him."

"Yeah, anyways I was just callin' to tell you not to wait up. Joyce is coming home from the hospital tomorrow and I wanna go with Giles to pick her up. You know, be supportive and all that."

"You aren't coming over tonight?" he tried to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Naw but I'll see you tomorrow alright?"

Wesley frowned and sputtered, "What about Slaying making you-"

Faith laughed over the phone, "Hungry and Horny…haha, yeah. Well, I can eat at the house and as for the horny part…maybe I'll get extra friendly with my five fingers. Dunno, I could check around and see if B left a vibe lying around somewhere."

Wesely coughed and tugged at his suddenly uncomfortable sweatpants, "I-I could drop you off early tomorrow."

"I'm already on Revello drive, don't sweat it Wes. Maybe I'll call you when I get settled in and we can have some phone sex."

"T-That's completely unneccessary." He stuttered, "I'm sure we can survive a night apart without resorting to…that."

"Ima check in B's room for that vibe, girl's gotta have one somewhere."

"I-Isn't that unsanitary, you don't know where that thing has been."

Faith chuckled, "It's a vibrator Wesley, think I've got some idea where it's been."

"Faith, really!"

"Oh come on Wes, don't be such a girl. I'm at the house now so I gotta go but no worries, tomorrow marathon sex, it'll be five by five."

"Good night Faith."

"Night Wes."

* * *

Spike and Doyle stood in front of the main office of the Lambert High School in New York City, staring at the sex ed posters that adorned the wall. Spike shoved a hand in the pocket of his duster and pulled out a cigarette, he stuck it in his mouth while he searched the rest of his pockets for his lighter.

Doyle glanced at him, "You're in a high school man, you can't smoke that in here."

Spike lit up the cigarette, "Watch me."

"Cmon, that's just rude. We're supposed to be lookin' for this guy, Wood."

Spike frowned, "Look mate, I haven't had a bleeding fag since we got on the train back in Los Angeles. Don't get me started on the rest of the bloody trip, I just need a minute to collect m'self."

"Oh well then, by all means take your time. I'm sure your girlfriend isn't in any immediate danger." Taunted Doyle.

Spike flicked the rest of the cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his boot, "Reckon I see your point." He took a breath and ran his hand over his hair, "Guess it's show time."

Inside the office, a young blonde woman was sitting at the main desk typing away on her computer. For a second, she reminded Spike of Buffy and he had to do a double take. She was young but definitely older than his Slayer and not nearly as beautiful.

The woman smiled, "Hi, can I help you gentleman?"

Spike leaned on the tall desk and flashed a toothy grin, "You certainly can gorgeous, we're lookin' for our old mate goes by the name of 'Wood', he around here?"

The secretary giggled, Oh yes, Principal Wood is right in his office."

"Would you be a dear and show us the way, pet?"

The secretary giggled again, "Oh sure, his office is right through that door over there but make sure to knock first." She pointed to the left of her desk, there was a door labeled 'Principal'.

"Thanks love." Spike grinned at her one last time then turned with Doyle and headed to the door.

"Real smooth, I'm impressed."

Spike just chuckled and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Principal Robin Wood sat at his desk, hunched over a stack of detention forms.

"Do you have those suspensions forms for me, Ms. Kathy?"

"Sorry to disappoint but we're fresh out."

Wood's head snapped up, "Who are you?"

Spike dropped down into the chair in front of the desk, "Name's Spike, this here is Doyle."

Wood reached for a drawer under his desk, "You mean 'Spike' as in William the Bloody?" he pulled out a stake.

Spike eyed the weapon and rolled his eyes, "Look mate, I'm not here for a tussle not that you'd stand much chance if I wanted to snap your neck."

Doyle held up a hand defensively, "We just came for information, a friend said that you could help us out."

Wood leaned back in his chair, "Now why would I help a vampire and…I'm guessing you're a demon of some kind."

Spike sighed, "Look mate, Council kidnapped my girlfriend and I'm trying to find out where they took her."

Wood tilted his head, intruiged. "Why would the Watcher's Council kidnap a vampire? Or is your girl a human?"

"Try the Slayer." Doyle said.

Wood laughed, "You expect me to belive that a Slayer is dating a vampire?"

"Suppose you could say Buffy went rogue, didn't wanna play by their rules anymore and skipped town. We had an apartment in LA til they decided to take her."

Wood nodded, "hmmm…that makes more sense. Rogue Slayer, they probably wanted to rehabilitater her."

"Yeah, that's it. I don't know what those bleeding sods have in mind but I'm not gonna just stand around while they tinker around tryna fix her. I reckon her friends are busy lookin' for her same as I am."

Wood sighed, "Alright, what exactly is it that you need my help with?"

Doyle took a step forward, "I get these visions from the Powers That Be who want to help Spike rescue the Slayer but so far I've only had visions about some Slayer who died before Buffy was called. We're assuming the Powers are givin' us clues but we don't know anything about the Slayer before Buffy."

"Sounds like you need to take a look at my collection of Watcher's Diaries."

Spike shrugged, "Sounds about right, how'd you get them anyway. Way we heard it you've got it in for the Council of Wankers same as we do."

"I just don't trust them, I know first hand what they're capable of."

"Yeah? How's that?"

"My mother was a Slayer when I was a kid, when she died her watcher took me in and trained me to defend myself. Left everything to me when he passed, I think he was hoping that I could become a watcher for the Council."

Doyle frowned, "That's rough, was it vamps or demon that got her?"

"Neither." Wood stated, "It was the Council. See they couldn't control her either then she had me and they decided that it was time to 'fix' her."

Spike titled his head, "What'd you mean by that?"

"It's only happened about 5 times in the last hundred years or so but once in a while they get a Slayer that is too 'wild' to be rehabilitated the traditional way." Wood shook his head, "My mother was the 5th Slayer, I don't know what they did or tried to do to her but it killed her."

Spike growled, "I'll kill them if they've done anything to Buffy."

Wood took a deep breath, "Look, I'll try to help you with whatever I can. I don't want to see what happened to mom, happen to anyone else."

"You don't have a clue what they might've done to her?" Doyle questioned.

"All I know is, when she came back she wasn't herself. She had headaches all the time, her moods ran hot and cold at the flip of a switch. Two weeks later, she died in her sleep."

The thought of something like that happening to his Slayer put Spike in a foul mood, he had the intense desire to cause these Council guys some serious pain. "Sorry bout your mum and I swear they won't get away with this, I'm gonna get my Slayer back."

Wood nodded, "I keep the diaries locked up in a safe at home, I just need half an hour to finish these forms then we can go to my place."

Two hours later all three men were in the living room of Wood's apartment going through the Watcher's Diaries, searching for anything on the Slayer that was called before Buffy but they hadn't had much luck yet.

Spike tossed a book aside in frustrastion, "Bloody Watchers, can't read a sodding word of this with a magnifying glass."

Doyle held his own book close to his face, "It's like fruitflies wrote these things."

Wood chuckled, "They can be a little difficult to read but the details are incredible. The Watchers tell you everything right up unti the death."

Spike frowned, "I can't do this all night, we've got to narrow down the search to a specific time frame."

"When was your Slayer called?"

"I dunno exactly, I only met her about 3 or 4 years ago and by then she'd been slaying for two years I reckon."

Doyle moved a few books aside, "Right, so we can try late 70's to early 80's and work our way out from there."

"Hey, I think I've got something." Wood glanced at them from his own book, "In the car you said the previous Slayer was killed by a demon cyborg thing right?"

"Yeah."

Wood smiled, "I've got our girl, her name was Emily Weston."

Spike sat down the book he was holding, "What's it say about her?"

"Emily Weston was a Slayer up in Oregon, it says her family was rich mostly because her dad was an investor." Wood studied a few pages, "hmm, stuff about her family, her early training. She managed to graduate from high school and got accepted to the University of New Mexico but only attended for a year."

Spike groaned, "Skip that bit, what does it say about the demon she faught?"

Wood held up a hand, "Okay, okay let me get to that. It says that Emily Weston came back home to Oregon after a year and soon discovered that some top secret government organization called the Initiative had set up shop in her home town. They hunted vampires and demons in order to expirement on them, they created a cyborg named 'Adam' out of multiple demon, human, and robotic parts."

Doyle glanced at Spike, "He was an ugly bastar d in my visions."

Wood continued, "Adam escaped his cell and she tried to stop him but was injured. She remained with her Watcher for a few days to heal, apparently Adam did a number on her. While she was with her Watcher, Adam killed her family, she went after him again and he killed her too. The Council finally had to step in and shut down everything, they sealed Adam away in a steel crate and dropped him into the Atlantic Ocean."

"So the Council had to step in at the end after Adam killed their Slayer."Doyle shook his head, "They couldn't even find a way to kill him properly."

Wood read a few more pages, "This is intresting, says the Initiative also developed a microchip to control vampires. They implanted in the brain and when a vamp tried to attack, bite or harm a human in anyway the chip would fire electric pulses into the brain and cause the vampire pain."

Spike snorted, "Good riddence to them."

"Wait a minute." Doyle stood up from his seat on the floor, "You said the Council tried to 'control' your mother in a way that wasn't traditional and it killed her."

"Yeah, what are you thinking?"

Spike moaned, "Oh buggering hell, lemme guess. The Council decided to borrow a few of the Initiatives gadgets and use it on the Slayers?"

Wood frowned, "I wouldn't put it past them but my mother was dead a good 10-15 years before this happened."

Just then Doyle dropped to his knees, "Sonofa-!" he held his head as the vision assaulted his brain, then finally it was over.

Wood looked concerned, "You alright? Was that a vision?"

Doyle straightened himself out, "It's passed, but I think the PTB was trying to give us another clue."

"What did you see?"

"There was a long white hallway, smelled like fresh paint too. There were doors with labels that I couldn't see except one, it said 'S.C.S-6. Got a peek at the inside of that room, was dark but there were computers everywhere and they were monitoring something or someone."

Wood looked at Spike, "Could be the Council."

Spike nodded, "Which means that whatever they tried to do to your mum, they wanna perfect it and use it on Buffy."

"All information leads us to believe that your Slayer is now the 6th Slayer, let's hope that whatever it is they're planning hasn't gone into effect yet."

Spike growled, "I'm gonna stop them."

Doyle ran a hand through his hair, "I think its time we headed back to Sunnydale and shared this information with her friends, see if they have any ideas."

Wood took out a business card and handed it to Spike, "That's my number if you need anything else."

"Thanks mate."


End file.
